RSGB Intermediate Licence Examination — Information & Free Practice

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About RSGB Intermediate Licence Examination

RSGB Intermediate Licence Examination · GB

Key exam facts

Provider: Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) provides the amateur radio licence examinations under agreed terms with Ofcom, the licensing regulator.
Format: 46 multiple-choice questions, each with four possible responses. Normally taken online at home with a remote invigilator or in a club setting; paper arrangements are exceptional. The Foundation examination must be passed before sitting Intermediate.
Exam questions: Total questions: 46.
Time limit: 90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes) of examination time under standard arrangements; approved disability arrangements may differ.
Passing score: 28 correct answers out of 46; RSGB describes this as 61%.
Exam fee: GBP £39.00 per Intermediate examination, as listed on the current RSGB exam fee page. Training providers may charge separately.

Topics covered

Licensing conditions and station identification (13.04%)
- Nature of amateur radio, types of licence and call signs
- Intermediate operation from ships and aircraft
- Operators and supervision
- Direct supervision and duties of the supervisor
- Messages
- International disaster messages on behalf of non-licensees
- Messages and equipment use for a User Service
- Apparatus, inspection and closedown
- Undue interference and emission reduction
- Mandatory logs, modification and cessation of operation
- Unattended and remote control operation
- Secure remote links and unattended equipment conditions
- Electromagnetic Fields
- Average and peak power thresholds and reassessment
- Licence Schedule
- Intermediate Schedule 1 interpretation
Technical aspects (30.43%)
- Fundamental theory
- Component tolerances
- Resistance
- Series and parallel resistors and cells; Ohm's law
- Potential dividers
- Potential difference, EMF and source resistance
- Reactive components
- Capacitor structure, charge storage and capacitance
- Capacitors in series and parallel
- Polarised capacitors and correct connection
- Induction, magnetic fields and stored energy
- Inductors in series and parallel
- Coil dimensions, cores and slug tuning
- AC theory
- Capacitor response to AC and DC
- Sinusoidal and square waves, period and phase
- Resistive AC circuits, RMS and reactance
- Capacitive reactance and frequency
- Inductive reactance and frequency
- Impedance, dissipation and energy storage; no phase/vector notation
- Frequency and wavelength calculations
- RF current and voltage along conductors
- Digital signals
- Sampling, resolution, distortion and Nyquist rate
- Transformers
- Transformer construction, AC transfer, turns and voltage; no impedance transformation
- Tuned Circuits and resonance
- LC tuned circuits and equal reactance at resonance
- Series and parallel resonant impedance
- Energy exchange and L/C effects on resonance; no resonance formula
- Selectivity and Q factor indication
- Low, high, band pass and notch filters; graphical cut-off
- Semiconductor devices
- Diode conduction, forward bias and rectification
- Reverse-biased variable-capacitance diode
- Bipolar transistor amplification, gain and switching; NPN common emitter scope
- Common-emitter amplifier and biasing; no calculations
- Transistor oscillators, crystal and VFO; Colpitts recognition only
- Integrated circuits and specified applications
- Cells and power supplies
- Cell technology, terminal voltage and ampere-hour capacity
- Rectifier and smoothing circuits
- Reservoir capacitor charge and discharge; waveforms
- Linear power supplies and comparison with switched mode
Transmitters and receivers (15.22%)
- Transmitter concepts
- AM depth, FM bandwidth and peak deviation
- SSB generation, efficiency and bandwidth comparison
- Transmitter architecture
- CW, AM, SSB and FM transmitter block diagrams
- Oscillators
- Crystal oscillator versus VFO and tuned frequency
- Frequency stability, drift and crystal-referenced synthesis
- Direct digital synthesis and lookup tables
- Microphone amplifiers and modulators
- Balanced modulator sidebands and carrier suppression
- SSB filters and resonators
- Variable-capacitance diode FM
- RF power amplifiers
- RF amplifier efficiency and output power
- Transmitter interference
- Harmonics and interference
- Filter behaviour and harmonic suppression
- CW envelope rise/fall and key clicks
- Chirp causes, effects and remedies
- Receiver concepts
- Crystal and direct-conversion receivers and analogue stages
- Sensitivity and strong-signal overload
- Selectivity and tuned-circuit limitations
- Superheterodyne concepts
- Superheterodyne need and advantages
- Mixing and intermediate frequency
- Fixed IF, multi-band operation and tuned circuits
- Demodulation
- Diode AM, CW BFO, SSB CIO/product detector and FM discriminator
- Automatic gain control (AGC)
- AGC gain regulation and S-meter drive
- SDR transmitters and receivers
- Fourier transform, spectrum displays and digital selectivity
- Time and frequency domains; spectra of one and two harmonics
- SDR functional blocks
Feeders and antennas (8.7%)
- Feeders
- Balanced feeder fields, imbalance and waveguide dimensions
- Power and feeder-loss calculations
- Characteristic impedance and termination
- Baluns
- Choke balun construction and use
- Antenna concepts
- Front-to-back ratio, beamwidth and three-dimensional patterns
- Isotropic radiator, EIRP and dipole gain
- Angle of radiation and ground effects
- Feed-point current, impedance and design frequency
- Types of antenna
- Three-element Yagi dimensions and directors
- Parallel-resonant antenna traps
- Standing waves
- Reflected waves, feeder loss and input impedance
- Antenna matching units
- AMU impedance transformation; no antenna resonance or feeder SWR change
- Plugs and Sockets
- Correct coaxial continuity and contained RF fields
Propagation (6.52%)
- Radio propagation: key concepts
- Ground, space and sky wave; skip distance and dead zone
- Electric and magnetic fields and polarisation
- Ionosphere
- Solar ionisation and ionospheric layers
- Ionisation variation, sunspots and MUF
- F2 range, hops, fading and long/short paths
- D-layer absorption, LUF and propagation window
- Sporadic E frequencies and hop distances
- VHF and above
- Multipath propagation at VHF and above
Electromagnetic compatibility (8.7%)
- EMC concepts
- Radiation, absorption and compatibility principle
- Immunity through screening and lead filtering
- Domestic transmitter fields and special measures
- Immunity standards, existing and poorly installed equipment
- Sources of interference and their effects
- AM/SSB speech pickup and FM muting
- Non-radio interference sources and characteristic buzzing
- DAB muting and digital TV breakup
- Routes of entry
- Direct pickup and frequency dependence
- Broadband TV amplifier overload
- Filtering and remedial measures
- Power, antenna and mains filters
- Common/differential modes and ferrite chokes
- Receiver checks for spurious and harmonic emissions
- Dummy load specification and fault diagnosis
- Station design and antenna placement/general principles
- Station interconnections and appropriate cables
- Good RF earth purpose and use
- Indoor antennas and proximity coupling problems
- Station design and antenna placement/mobile installations
- Cable routing and interference to vehicle electronics
- Antenna mounting position and exposure in vehicles
Good operating practices and procedures (4.35%)
- Good operating practices and procedures
- International call-sign prefixes
- Awards and contest exchanges and categories
- Band plans
- IARU plans, prohibited contest bands and exam-specific limits
- Codes and abbreviations
- Q codes and reasons for use
- Digital interfaces
- Computer interfaces, audio adjustment and unintended PC sounds
- Satellites
- Satellite altitude, movement and visibility
- Uplink/downlink bands and receiving best practice
- Mutual horizon and Doppler frequency correction
- Satellite power limits and fair uplink use
- CEPT and international
- Intermediate licence not routinely recognised abroad
Safety (6.52%)
- Electricity
- Stored capacitor charge and discharge resistors
- Fuse type, rating and nominal mains current
- Conditions for live equipment work
- Vehicle battery currents, corrosion, hydrogen and ventilation
- Using tools
- Tool handling and fingers behind blades
- Secure workpieces in a vice
- Remove chuck and locking keys
- Centre punch prevents drill slip
- Pillar drill safety
- Working with RF
- 100 W compliance distances and mobile pedestrians
- Lightning
- Limited protection against static charge buildup
Measurements and construction (6.52%)
- Measurements
- Multimeter range and polarity
- Voltmeter and ammeter resistance and connection
- Analogue and digital display use
- Voltage/current measurement of input power
- Decibels
- Power ratios, dB gains/losses and reference units
- Components
- Resistor and capacitor markings with supplied colour codes
- Construction
- Metal screening of equipment and stages
- Soldering
- Joining metals with solder and an iron
- Low-melting solder and flux
- Different metals' solderability
- Cleaning and tinning the iron and wires

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam format?

46 multiple-choice questions, each with four possible responses. Normally taken online at home with a remote invigilator or in a club setting; paper arrangements are exceptional. The Foundation examination must be passed before sitting Intermediate.

How many questions are on the exam?

Total questions: 46.

How long is the exam?

90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes) of examination time under standard arrangements; approved disability arrangements may differ.

What is the passing score?

28 correct answers out of 46; RSGB describes this as 61%.

How much does the exam cost?

GBP £39.00 per Intermediate examination, as listed on the current RSGB exam fee page. Training providers may charge separately.

Official sources and references

RSGB Radio Amateur Examinations Specification
Cover
RSGB Radio Amateur Examinations Specification
Part 1, Allocation of Questions, p. 1.4
RSGB Intermediate Licence
The exam
RSGB Booking and paying for your exam
Exam fees
RSGB Radio Amateur Examinations Specification
Part 1, Pass Mark, p. 1.4

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.